Northern Pass Reaffirms Its Commitment to Hiring Local Works First

Northern Pass has long been committed to hiring New Hampshire workers first for the construction of Northern Pass. Eversource, Northern Pass’ parent company, recently reaffirmed that commitment with a project labor agreement. Below is an announcement from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) about the agreement which covers both union workers and non-union workers and businesses.

The announcement is great news for New Hampshire’s electrical workers as Northern Pass now presents an opportunity for them to work on a project in their home state, closer to their family and friends.

Tiler Eaton of the IBEW said “Given the size of this project and the number of trained electrical workers needed, we anticipate this project will not only fully utilize all available New Hampshire members, but will also provide work for hundreds of our members from Massachusetts.”

Boston, MA –The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ (IBEW) Second District announced today that it, along with Eversource, Quanta Services, Inc., and ABB Inc., recently finalized a comprehensive Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the Northern Pass transmission project. The agreement ensures that a trained workforce will be used, including apprentice opportunities for the IBEW’s members and other construction trades, to build the 192-mile transmission line that will deliver clean energy to New England through an interconnection to the region’s electric grid in Deerfield, New Hampshire.

“This agreement confirms Northern Pass’ commitment to utilize a local labor force for its advanced, shovel-ready project,” said Mike Monahan, Vice President, IBEW Second District. “We are pleased to have a fully executed PLA in place that will provide substantial work opportunities—as early as the spring of 2018—for our members in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and other parts of New England.”

The agreement outlines the partners’ commitment to prioritize the hiring of New Hampshire and Massachusetts workers in meeting the staffing needs for the project. Eversource expects the project to create 2,600 jobs during peak construction, with hundreds of them being skilled electrical workers.

“With a plan to begin construction in 2018 and to place Northern Pass in service in 2020, it was imperative that we finalize this critical agreement with the IBEW, and our major contractors, Quanta Services, Inc. and ABB, Inc.,” said Bill Quinlan, President of Eversource NH Operations. “We appreciate the commitment of our partners to ensuring that local workers and businesses will have the opportunity to participate in this project that will deliver unparalleled benefits to New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New England.”

Parties to the PLA include:

IBEW Second District – covers all of New England

IBEW Local 104 – of Barrington, NH, serves the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont.

IBEW Local 490 – of Concord, NH

Quanta Services, Inc. – the largest transmission and distribution specialty contractor in North America, Quanta will serve as general contractor through its subsidiary, PAR Electrical Contractors, with an office in Bow, New Hampshire

ABB Inc. – The global leader in high voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies, ABB will install the underground transmission line cable and build the convertor station in Franklin, New Hampshire

“We are pleased to have a firm and fully executed agreement with Eversource to build the Northern Pass project and to be part of this PLA,“ said Duke Austin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quanta Services. “This exclusive general services contract is unique to Northern Pass and Quanta. We have a long history of working with Eversource and the IBEW, and believe adding ABB, Inc. to this partnership creates an incredibly strong team capable of safely delivering the Northern Pass project, which is designed to provide clean energy benefits to the region.”

“We look forward to working with Quanta and our IBEW partners on this project,” said Tomas Leander, ABB senior vice president and general manager of HVDC in North America. “In addition to installing the underground transmission line, a major focus of our work will be constructing the Franklin converter terminal, which will require a variety of skilled trades. Having an executed PLA in place now, along with a firm and fully executed contract for equipment and installation, provides certainty, ensures opportunities for local workers, and allows us to hit the ground running when construction begins.”

In addition to outlining areas of union work, the Northern Pass PLA also defines the scope of work that will be open to non-union workers and businesses. These include construction of access roads, logging and clearing, trucking and other key construction-related activities.

IBEW 2nd District encompasses the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont and represents approximately 40,000 members throughout these New England states.

IBEW Local 104represents more than 1,000 outside electrical linemen, trained and skilled to install and repair high-voltage electrical systems from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island.

IBEW Local 490represents workers in the electrical construction, maintenance, and telecommunications industry in New Hampshire.

Eversource (NYSE: ES) transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 3.6 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Recognized as the top U.S. utility for its energy efficiency programs by the sustainability advocacy organization Ceres, Eversource harnesses the commitment of its approximately 8,000 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and superior customer service. For more information, please visit our website (www.eversource.com) and follow us on Twitter (@EversourceCorp) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceEnergy).

Northern Pass is a 192-mile electric transmission line project that will bring to New England 1,090 megawatts of clean hydropower. This reliable and affordable source of power will also bring a wide range of benefits to the region, including millions of dollars in energy cost savings and a significant reduction in carbon emissions. To learn more about Northern Pass, go to www.northernpass.us.

Quanta Services is a leading specialized contracting services company, delivering infrastructure solutions for the electric power, oil and gas and communications industries. Quanta’s comprehensive services include designing, installing, repairing and maintaining energy and communications infrastructure. With operations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia and select other international markets, Quanta has the manpower, resources and expertise to safely complete projects that are local, regional, national or international in scope. For more information, visit www.quantaservices.com.

ABB (NYSE: ABB) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 132,000 employees. (www.abb.com)